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[379] It is strange that the thunder, though expressly said to be in answer to Nestor's prayer, should encourage not the Greeks but the Trojans; a difficulty which may be evaded by rejecting 378 with Heyne, and regarding the thunder as a mark of disfavour. But the whole passage 367-80 has the air of a later addition designed to bring Nestor once more into prominence. We last heard of him as an onlooker at the beginning of “Ξ”, and his appearance here is certainly unexpected. To all appearance, as is pointed out in the Introduction, 366 is the last line of the “Διὸς ἀπάτη”; at the point of juncture with the continuation of the story we may naturally expect to find short interpolated passages of transition; another follows immediately in 390-404, and 380-90 are by no means devoid of difficulty. It may be added that ὥς in 367 has a very vague reference to the general situation, and comes in awkwardly after the “ὥς” of 365.

The Iliad, edited, with apparatus criticus, prolegomena, notes, and appendices. Walter Leaf. London. Macmillan. 1900.

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